All Things Bubba

So, someone over at Red Reporter mentioned my Krivsky voodoo doll. Which prompted a discussion of last year's voodoo hijinks.

You may remember that last year, Albert Pujols was on pace to break the home run and RBI records, and seemed a shoo-in for NL MVP. Until he suffered a severe oblique strain, that left him struggling to walk, let alone play baseball.

Well, now we know why. Last year, the Church of Baseball put the whammy on Albert Pujols:


Apparently, Cards fans were not amused. But they got the last laugh. Despite the hex on Pujols, the Cards won the World Series.

In more fun with Photoshop, Slyde did this great "South Park" version of the 2005 Reds roster:

South Park Reds (Check out Ryan Freel!)

One thing that struck me, looking at that picture: there seems to be a lot more white guys on the Reds than on the Yanks. Bubba stuck out when he was with the Yanks, just because of his coloring. You could pick him out even at a distance, because he's so pale. Not so with the Reds.

No, I don't think there's racism involved or anything. It's probably more a reflection of the Yankees' excellent international recruiting system.

Since someone asked, here's a list of baseball players named Bubba:

Name             Years Played     Given Name
Bubba Carpenter    2000-2000    Charles Carpenter
Bubba Church       1950-1955    Emory Nicholas Church
Bubba Crosby       2003-2006    Richard Stephen Crosby
Bubba Floyd        1944-1944    Leslie Roe Floyd
Bubba Harris       1948-1951    Charles Harris
Bubba Morton       1961-1969    Wycliffe Nathaniel Morton
Bubba Phillips     1955-1964    John Melvin Phillips
Bubba Trammell     1997-2003    Thomas Bubba Trammell

Several Yankees fans noted last year that Bubba seemed to get hit by pitches a lot. I thought it was a combination of the way he stood at the plate and his preference for jerseys about three sizes too large. But no, according to this site, it might just be because his last name starts with "C"!

Ah, beautiful Ft. Myers. They tell you about the sand, the surf, the sun, the Twins' spring training. But they don't tell you about the serial killer.

And for those of you who are wondering about Andy Phillips...he has cleared waivers and been assigned to Scranton/Wilkes Barre. I think this was the first time he was outrighted, so he didn't have the right to refuse the assignment. He will likely be the starting first baseman for the Yankees' Triple-A Club.